FAQ's

What is there to do in Durango?

There is so much to do in our fun little town! You could go hiking on one of the many mountains that surround us. Biking is also a great choice. The Animas River flows right through town and provides hours of fun. you can either raft, tube or just sit by the river. I like to fish in the Animas too.There is also the Train that takes you up to Silverton for the day. Maybe Shopping is more your thing and you could check out all the cool stores that Durango has to offer. There are also some spectacular restaurants if your inner foodie needs to come out. If you drive north, you could spend your day at Durango Mountain Resort. In the winter DMR has some great skiing and in the summer, there is some great hikes, bungee trampolines and a zipline. Durango may be a small mountain town, but there is plenty to keep you busy.

Did Ya Know?

How the Iron Horse Bicycle Classic Began.....

Celebrating Over 100 Years of Cycling in Durango

The town of Durango has long been enthusiastic about cycling. This photo was taken of the Durango Wheel Club at Bakers Bridge in 1895, on one of Durango's favorite road loops.

How the Iron Horse was Conceived

The Iron Horse Bicycle Classic was the brain child of Tom Mayer and his older brother Jim. Jim worked as a brakeman on the D & R G W railroad which had run the steam powered locomotive between Durango and Silverton since the 1880's. Tom was a young bicycle enthusiast who grew up alongside the tracks to Silverton. Tom challenged Jim to a race to Silverton. As the train came by the house, the steam whistle screamed and Tom climbed on his trusty steel framed 10 speed and pedaled up over the rim of the old volcano and descended into the caldera to the mining town of Silverton. The train takes a shorter and easier route, but with limited speed, so it is truly a race between man and machine. When Tom became strong enough to win, the bragging rights were his, and the whole town knew it.

The First Iron Horse

In 1972 a group of 36 riders decided to celebrate the first run of the train in the spring by accepting the challenge. It's been all up hill since then. In 41 years the Iron Horse has become one of the classic bicycle events in the West. Durango is centrally located between Denver, Albuquerque, Phoenix, and Salt Lake City. The Iron Horse is an ideal early summer meeting of the riders from each of these cycling centers as they attempt to bring home the glory to their own communities. In recent years the participants have come from every state and many foreign countries to ride the famed Iron Horse course. Each year hundreds of riders will feel the thrill of descending into Silverton and looking to see if the train has arrived. And familiar faces will be there, as many people come back year after year to the "best race we have around."

Growth of the Iron Horse

Over the years several events have been added to the classic train race. There have been criteriums, circuit races, road races, tours, BMX races, Trials, dual slaloms, team trail rides, and mountain bike races. There has been a full weekend of events every Memorial Day for the past 41 years. In 2011 the IHBC had over 3500 participants in 5 events. Not bad for a town of only 16,000 people nestled in the mountains of Southwest Colorado!

Dinosaurs 101

 Pop Quiz time.....

1. Velociraptor was probably one of the smartest dinosaurs? 

True or False?
2. A very famous T-Rex is named________________ and he lives with _______________, __________________, and  ________________.

3.A Biped is a dinosaur that __________________________________.

4. Mr. Cretoxyrhina was   1)  most like a dolphin

                                           2) most like a deer

                                           3) most like a shark

5. A corythosaurus grew to be about 80' long. True or False?

6. Michelinoceras most likely lived underwater. True or False?

7. An adocus looked most like 1) an eagle

                                                          2) a fuzzy rabbit

                                                  3) a turtle

8. There's a brachiosaurus at the Durango Silverton Narrow Gauge railroad depot today?  True or False?

Answers: All of the answers can be found in previous blog articles. 1. True 2.Buddy, Shiny, Tiby, and Don 3. mainly walks on 2 legs 4. a shark 5. False 30' long 6. true  7. a turtle 8. True there's a Brachiosaurus on the lawn.